


I Have Never Needed God

by Iustitia



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, M/M, Vampire Hunters, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-08-07 23:19:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7733722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iustitia/pseuds/Iustitia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lovino is a vampire hunter in training, who has grown up under the maxim that all vampires are inherently evil and not capable of withholding themselves from their bloodlust. For this reason, they must be killed. The code that Lovino has lived under for eighteen years is brought into question during his first solo hunt, in which he meets a group of vampires who do not appear to act like the ones he's been taught to loathe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't ALWAYS use conventional names for the characters so here's a list with names of characters mentioned in this chapter:
> 
> Lovino Vargas - South Italy  
> Céline Janssen - Belgium  
> Antonio Fernández Carriedo - Spain  
> Joaquim Zubiate Carriedo - Portugal  
> Carlos Machado - Cuba
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading this, feel free to leave comments! : )

To the trained eye one might have been able to tell at first glance if this guy really was what he was looking for, but unfortunately for him, Lovino wasn’t a professional. Hunting was a difficult feat, because they looked like totally normal people with an only slightly abnormal pale complexion. Considering how far north he was presently, about eighty percent of the population fit those parameters.

The guy he was looking at looked like he was meant to have a bit of a dark complexion naturally, but his skin was far too dull to be considered tan. Lovino also swore that when the man smiled he showed off a pair of abnormally sharp canines. As he’d been taught, these were the physical attributes of vampires. It was even more difficult to find them when one went actively searching for them. He’d been travelling around for almost two weeks now with no luck. He had a feeling he might’ve found a target quicker at home, just hanging out in the usual bars and such. He was just happy he seemed to be getting somewhere with this guy.What had really tipped him off about the man sitting at the bar though, was after watching him for nearly three hours, was that he’d had about a dozen drinks and wasn’t shit faced. Alcohol was known not have any effect on vampires, something about their bodies burning it off too quickly, he’d never bothered to learn the details.

The man was handling himself quite well, even flirting and utilizing what Lovino thought was an over exaggerated Spanish accent with a woman next to him at the bar. Whatever he was saying to her presently seemed to be working, no matter how uninterested she’d seemed not an hour or so before. According to Lovino’s grandfather, that was also a power vampires possessed, the ability to charm, manipulate, and even control minds.

It’d been just a few quirks about the man and the way he presented himself that made the Italian suspicious, but he couldn’t help but be entirely invested now. He had to make sure this man wasn’t going to take this woman out into a back alley and suck every last bit of blood from her veins. It was his duty as a trained vampire hunter and grandson of one of the most feared hunters that ever lived.

This would be his first kill, if his suspicions were correct and he could catch the guy by surprise. Lovino was prepared with a wooden stake and holy water waiting in his bag to be used. Again, testaments to the legacy of his grandfather, both had been used by him during his prime. You could even make out a couple of blood stains in the stake if you looked hard enough.

Sticking his hand into his bag and wrapping his fingers around the stake, he tried to calm his jittering nerves. What if this guy was a vampire, would Lovino really be able to kill him? They were strong sonsabitches, and could probably tear Lovino in half if they were pissed off enough. Would he be able to carry on the family name with honor? If he couldn’t kill one scumbag vampire who prowled on women in bars, he feared he couldn’t ever even look his grandfather in the face. He’d spent so many years telling him stories of his accomplishments, teaching him the ways of a vampire hunter, training him to take his place. It would be all for naught if he couldn’t control his fear.

The man whispered something into the woman’s ear, and she grinned in response. Then he leaned back, speaking loud enough for Lovino to hear, “Going outside to talk would be nice, yes? It’s getting stuffy in here.” His green eyes flashed mischievously under the lantern lights of the bar.

The woman agreed without contest, “Sure does sound nice. Good time for a smoke break too. Lead the way, Antonio.” The man, who now had a name, slapped a couple of bills down on the bar and walked out with her.

Lovino, knowing now was the time to act, took a long deep breath, threw his hood over his head then followed the two out, hand still pacifying his nerves by clutching at the stake in his bag. He followed the two from a distance behind, watching as they ducked into some dark alley not a block away. As carefully and quietly as he could manage, he peered around the corner of the alley, watching as Antonio stood, mere inches away from the woman whose back was pressed against the wall. She didn’t look at all alarmed, but something in his stance and the way he looked at her seemed off, almost predatory.

The two continued to talk, voices muffled by the distance between them. Antonio just kept getting closer, whispering into her ear, mouth so close to her neck the anticipation nearly gave Lovino a heart attack; the woman just laughed, seeming to enjoy the close proximity between the two of them.

Then, Antonio got way too close for comfort, body language screaming _attack_  to Lovino. He opened his mouth, sharp canines gleaming under the dim streetlights, and seemingly went for the woman’s throat. Without much thought, Lovino panicked and jumped into action, he was sure now that this asshole was a vampire, and he couldn’t sit by and watch him kill a woman. With swift strides, he managed to come up quickly behind the distracted Antonio and dug the wooden stake deep into the flesh of his back, right where his heart should be.

Antonio let out a pained yell and the woman screamed, taking off in the opposite direction. It seemed whatever spell he had her under was interrupted by the  Lovino backed away, pleased that he’d gotten this far, but that feeling quickly was swept up by the dread of realizing that Antonio wasn’t at all affected by the stake to the heart. How could that possibly be? The damned book his grandfather had given him said that vampires would perish if a wooden stake was plunged into their heart! Antonio stood up straight with a groan and tried to pull the stake out of his back; the wound was spilling blood but that didn’t seem to deter him.

“Oh shit—” Lovino began to say, but before he could comprehend what was going on, he was violently kicked into the opposite wall by what appeared to him as a sudden flash of color, much too quick to be human. Feeling the wind get knocked out of him and hearing perhaps the crack of a couple bones on the left side of his body as he hit the wall, he fell to the ground gasping violently for air. In a single moment, his entire life flashed before his eyes. It was rather disappointing, not only had he failed to kill his first vampire but he would also die a virgin. What a pathetically sad life this was.

“Wow, we’ve got our very own Buffy the Vampire Slayer!” A new voice said. The man who spoke crouched down in front of Lovino. His eyes were still coming back into focus, but he could see the shit eating grin on the new man’s face, sharpened canines catching his eye. “Too bad most of that Buffy shit doesn’t work on us.” The man said, dumping the contents of Lovino’s bag on the ground in front of him. “None of this shit would work on us, actually. But I’ve got to admit, you were damn well sneaky enough to get as close as you did to my brother to stab him! Good thing you weren't smart enough to kill him though, otherwise I would’ve had to rip you limb from limb.”

Eyes wide and fear coursing through his veins, he saw behind the new man another woman, remarkably beautiful, pale, and blonde who was helping Antonio pull the stake out of his back. The man yelped again once she managed to get it out, but he looked beyond relieved to see them. The three of them had to be vampires. Lovino had assumed that this Antonio guy was a loner, and that was probably his biggest mistake.

"How did you know I was here?" Antonio asks.

"Every time you leave without saying anything, it's always to that bar." The woman responds, putting her hand over his wound. 

The new man, who looked remarkably similar to Antonio aside from sporting a ponytail and having a beauty mark on the side of his face, was most certainly the one who’d punted him into the wall like a football. Still gasping for breath, Lovino felt hot tears burning in his eyes. “Please don’t kill me,” the Italian croaked out pathetically holding up his now injured arm, every shallow breath he took making it feel like his chest was going to explode. “I’ll never mess with you guys again, please. I’m not ready to die!”

At least the woman Antonio was preying on had gotten away, that was the only silver lining Lovino could seem to find as the ponytail guy opened up his mouth to speak again, “Well, as much as I’d love to let you go, unfortunately, you tried to kill my brother. Prepare to die!”

At that point, Lovino just began to cry harder, pleading even more piteously for his life. His shame had long since fled him.

Ponytail man entertained Lovino’s crying for a little while longer before taking hold of him and pretending to go for his neck. Promptly, the beautiful vampire woman appeared and slapped the back of ponytail’s head hard with her hand. “Knock it off Joaquim! He’s clearly not a threat, you don’t need to keep toying with him.”

Lovino eased down on the sobs, still clutching at his pained sides. She was defending him? But why?

Antonio was just as surprised as Lovino it seemed, “Céline, he tried to kill me! He at least deserves to feel the dread of impending death!”

“He didn’t kill you though. How was he supposed to tell the difference between us and other vampires?” Céline replied, pushing Joaquim away so she could bend down and talk to Lovino. He couldn’t have been more than seventeen or eighteen years old. He did just try to kill her boyfriend, but he was just a kid, she couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. Antonio on the other hand had lived through much worse situations, she knew he'd be fine. “What’s your name? I'm Céline. And can you tell me how you knew Antonio wasn't human?”

Céline had surely defended him, but Lovino couldn’t help but back away a little bit when she got down on his level. She was undeniably gorgeous and kind, but still intimidating as hell. “Uh, my name’s Lovino—So you’re not going to drain me of my blood and leave my corpse in the street?” He asked, cradling his arm, and watching as Antonio made rapid hand signals across his neck, trying to get the point across to Lovino not to answer. He did anyway. This woman seemed to be his only hope of escaping so he didn't dare get on her bad side. “He must have drank a dozen drinks in the bar, didn’t do a single thing to him. Everyone know's Vampires can't get drunk... And he brought a woman out here and looked like he was about to feed off her.”

“Did he now?” Céline raised an eyebrow, turning back to look at Antonio with an unamused expression. He pushed Joaquim in front of him to use as a human shield. Despite her apparent discontent with Antonio, she went on to calm him. “Well, we can get drunk, it just takes alot more drinks. Our group in particular doesn't kill humans, meaning we won't kill you, so either Antonio renounced our code or he had found some interest in a human woman.” She didn't look particularly happy saying that last part. 

“Babe, let me explain… She was a drug dealer! I was just flirting with her so that she’d give me pot. Carlos was the one that asked me to get them!” Antonio said hurriedly, hands moving in a flurry as he talked. Seeing as he was moving so freely, it seemed his wound was already mostly healed. Céline didn’t even dignify his excuse with a response. She looked tired, but not how one looks after a lack of sleep, more like it'd been caused by long term dealing with this guy's bullshit.

Lovino found himself caught in the middle of some rather interesting relationship drama, which was no less than entertaining, but he was also still mildly terrified. He didn’t entirely believe the whole not killing people thing. “What? That’s a load of bull, your kind aren’t supposed to be capable of such self control.” He said.

“Man, you’re questioning our eating habits?” Joaquim asked surprisedly, “She spares your life and that’s all you have to say?”

“A lot of us are capable of exerting enough self control to feed by means of feeding off each other, or by drinking donated blood. Like the blood bags that I get from the hospital.” Céline says, voice eerily calm. “We don’t associate with any vamps that kill and feast on humans. It’s not ethical. In fact,” She gently tries to examine Lovino’s arm. She felt bad for him, she really did, she was sure he’d meant well in trying to kill Antonio, but it was an extremely rash and stupid move. She was just thankful he hadn’t been knowledgeable enough to accomplish the task. “We hunt the one’s that do. A little like you were trying to.”

“Except we actually know what we’re doing when we do.” Antonio adds, examining Lovino’s bottle of holy water. “None of this would have any affect on us.” To prove his point, he opened up the bottle and poured it on Joaquim, who just sputtered angrily and punched his brother in the gut, as opposed to his skin burning and bubbling up like it might’ve in the movies. The two got into a bit of a scuffle and Céline just rolled her eyes.

Lovino gingerly let her feel his arm, letting out a loud “Ow!” and pulling away as she tried to move it. “I’ve never heard of such a damn ridiculous thing. Are you sure you’re real vampires? My Nonno was a great, famous hunter, he taught me everything he knew about hunting, he couldn’t be wrong!”

Céline shrugged her shoulders, notioning towards Antonio, “He’d be dead if they did work, and I’m sure. I’m nearly 500 years old. I don’t know many other species on this earth that can live that long.” She paused for a moment before asking, “What’s his name?”

Lovino searched her face for some hint of jest but she seemed absolutely serious. He swallowed hard and said, “Wow, well, you don’t look a day over a hundred.” He sort of chuckled at his own joke but winced as his ribs cried out again in pain. “His name is Romulus Vargas. You might’ve heard of him if you guys really are hunters.”

Céline’s expression kind of dropped at the mention of the man’s name, and she rubbed the back of her neck. It was clear that Lovino seemed to worship his grandfather, and she hated to ruin his image of him, “Well we do know him—”

Once Antonio and Joaquim had heard his name they both started laughing, clearly not as sensitive to his feelings as Céline had tried to be. “That asshole?” Joaquim asked, “He used to be an author way back when, wrote books about how to kill vampires and other supernatural entities and his adventures doing just that.”

Antonio continued, “He was really popular except he didn’t know shit. He made everything up to get money and women, didn’t even know our kind actually existed. A couple of stupid, angry vamps kidnapped him because they thought he was spilling real hunting techniques and were gonna drain him. We ended up saving his ass! It scared him so bad I don’t think he wrote any other books after that.”

It took a couple of moments for Lovino to process what they were saying, his Grandfather isn’t as great as he made himself out to be? That had to be a lie. His grandfather had narrated such vivid stories about the times he’d taken out entire groups of vampires all at once, werewolves, witches. He showed him his weapons and books and everything. These assholes had to be lying, lying about _everything_. _Everything._ They were just toying with him, gonna get him all riled up and them feast on him like Antonio had planned to do with that girl from the bar!

“I don’t believe you assholes! He would never lie and lead me on or teach me techniques that wouldn’t work!” His face lit up red and angry tears brimmed in his eyes. Agonizingly forcing himself to stand, he began to run, closing his eyes and just trying to get away from those shitty vampires. It was like his Grandfather had told him, to never trust those bloodsuckers. Then without warning, his head slammed into something so hard that he fell back to the ground, consciousness quickly fleeting.

The last image he saw before totally blacking out was the neon yellow of an emergency call box just meters out of his reach. How fucking unfortunate.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lovino wakes up in a house he doesn't recognize. 
> 
> Also, another couple members of the fam are mentioned this time around:
> 
> Hendrik Janssen - Netherlands  
> Christopher Janssen - Luxembourg

Lovino had never woken up in someone else’s home before, and he was pretty proud of that. So to say the least, it was a little alarming, waking up on a frighteningly hideous couch that smelled of mothballs. What had happened to his air freshener that smelled of the ocean breeze? To make matters worse, his mind was blurry and he couldn’t entirely remember the circumstances that led him to be here. 

Groggily sitting up on the couch, Lovino felt an ice pack fall into his lap, his head harshly beginning to throb. Every beat of his heart coincided with the banging in his head, and he put a hand up to try and ease the unpleasant feeling. As he tried, his arm twinged in pain and he let it fall back down to his side. From the looks of it, someone had put a sling on his arm. What the hell happened? 

“I’m glad you’re finally awake.” A feminine voice said suddenly, making Lovino jump. She hadn’t made a sound prior to that, so he hadn’t even noticed her sitting next to him. “I was worried you had a concussion or something after running into that pole. You hit your head pretty hard.”

He ran into a pole? Lovino groaned. God, that’s embarrassing. Looking at the woman’s face he wondered why she’d helped him, memories of before suddenly flooding back to him. Remembering having been thrown into a wall, and his exchanges with her and the two other vampires, he backed as far into the couch away from her as she could. Was he in their _ den? _ He couldn’t imagine her taking him anywhere else. “Where are we? Why did you bring me here?” Lovino almost yelled, but his voice not compensating enough for his surprise and coming out a bit too high pitched.

Having watched him recoil in fear,  Cèline refrained from reaching out to him. “You were injured, a broken arm, a couple of broken ribs, probably a concussion. We weren’t sure what else to do. I’m trained as a nurse, but with the working experience of a doctor, so I guess it was my first instinct to bring you home and fix you up.” She replied, leaning over her lap as she spoke to him. “That and Antonio panicked, picked you up, and ran as soon as we heard sirens. No one can know about what we are, otherwise we’ll have to move and take up new identities again if we want to live normal lives.  _ That’s  _ not fun, nor is it easy for us. Even if we’re on your side people don’t take kindly to vampires. Any old time horror film featuring vampires with people chasing after them with torches and pitchforks is evidence of that.” 

First they were vampires who hunt vampires and now she’s a nurse? They had to be making this shit up. But she sounded genuine and Lovino did have a soft spot beautiful, kind women. Even more so because she showed him more mercy than he probably deserved, especially after he tried to kill one of her group. He’d have to forgive her, not that she’d done anything wrong so far anyway. What she was implying however, didn’t sit quite so well with him, “So you’re worried that I’m gonna tell someone you’re here?” 

Cèline hesitated for a moment then nodded. “I mean, you’re injured. It’d be better if you stayed here anyway, at least until you’ve healed. We need to know for sure that you won’t tell anyone.” 

“God dammit, I can’t stay here with a group of  _ bloodsuckers!”  _ Lovino responded, moving too quickly, causing pain in his side. He had to have had a couple of broken ribs. That just strengthened her case for keeping him here. “And my brother is waiting for me back home, he has to know I’m okay. I won’t tell anyone  _ anything.  _ Clearly I’m way in over my goddamned head.”

Sighing at his use of the word bloodsuckers, Cèline tried to ease him back into a laying position so he wouldn’t hurt himself anymore. “Please just trust me. No one here is going to hurt you again, despite what you did. They’re all more or less on the same page as me.” She was sure in her words, even in knowing the odd characters of some of the people she lived with. “I kind of took your phone, but I’ll text your brother on your behalf and tell him that everything’s alright!  _ I  _ want to trust you enough to let you go but the others all agree that it isn’t a good idea just yet. No one else would be able to give you as much care as I can, either way, so please just accept that you have to be here for a couple days. It’s almost like a mini vacation.” 

This was the  _ farthest  _ thing from a vacation that Lovino could think of. Being stuck in a house, apartment, whatever-the-fuck-this-is with a group of vampires was a  _ nightmare.  _ Granted, they weren’t like how he imagined them, he was still  _ completely  _ terrified; being as injured as he was didn’t help that very much. Taking a hard gulp, he eased back as she’d wanted him to, breath labored from his outburst. “I don’t fucking like this at all, but I guess I don’t have a choice. How many of you are there anyway?” 

“If you’re trying to weigh your odds on fighting your way out of here, you wouldn’t be able to beat even one of us. At least, not in this condition.” Cèline replied, smiling wryly. “There’s me, Antonio and Joaquim, who you met before, then Carlos, Christopher and — and that’s all. Christopher is my younger brother, than Antonio, Joaquim and Carlos are all family.” 

Four against one definitely weren’t good odds, but he wasn’t stupid enough to try anything anyway. They definitely weren’t a large group, but they weren’t particularly small either.  “So, what’s the deal with you and that guy I tried to kill?” Lovino asked, remembering back to the way she’d reacted after hearing he’d been out with another woman. He’d  _ never  _ date a vampire… But  _ god  _ was she gorgeous. She looked like the women he used to…..not…..get it off to in his early teens. If she stayed there maybe he’d be able to mildly enjoy his mini-vacation, “Are you two a thing?” 

“Antonio? Well,” Céline says, raising an eyebrow at his question. There was definitely a reason he was asking her, she just hoped he wasn’t getting a crush on a woman 400 years his senior. Before she could answer though, her phone buzzed at her hip and she picked it up, frowning at the screen. “I have to go. Apparently they need me at work.” She  _ really  _ didn’t want to leave him here with Antonio and Joaquim since they were the only one’s home but she might have no other option. She stood up and dialled another number on her phone, giving Lovino a reassuring, fang-inclusive smile. 

Lovino knew immediately that he’d have to be left with at least  _ one  _ of the others. Two of which he was sure hated him and the other two he didn’t know and couldn’t trust. He would’ve begged her to stay but he needed to keep  _ some  _ of his dignity intact. So he just watched and listened to her, a bit of dread settling in his stomach. 

Céline called her younger brother, and asked him to  _ please, please, please  _ come home from wherever he was and make sure Antonio and Joaquim don’t torture Lovino. He gave her an answer which she could live with then closed the phone and excused herself momentarily. 

The thought of being left alone with the vampire he’d attempted to  _ kill  _ was at the very least terrifying, Lovino immediately regretted letting her leave. He had  _ a lot  _ of regrets actually. Regrets about this hunting trip he’d decided to go on, regrets about trusting his grandfather and vesting so much of his time and effort into trying to do something  _ good  _ only for it to backfire violently. If he’d just took his Grandfather’s stories for what they were, just  _ stories,  _ he wouldn’t be in this situation. At least, his Grandfather hadn’t been  _ completely  _ wrong. Vampires and other shit existed, he just apparently didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about when it came to actually killing them. Point being, none of the shit he’d brought to kill vampires worked on the one’s he’d come in contact with.

But at the same time, he wasn’t at all surprised. Disappointed, but still not surprised. The short time that his parents had been in his life, after his Grandfather’s death, he’d caught his mother saying how selfish he’d been. Always leaving his mother at home while he went out at night and always came back with women, reeking of alcohol. Lies and empty promises were commonplace between them. He was just too fond of having a good time, even as his age progressed he never really slowed down. Death was the only thing that stopped him completely. She said it was more draining to be around him than it was being without him. 

Granted, he’d never hurt her and never failed to take care of his daughter and grandchildren when they needed help financially, he wasn’t a terrible guy. He spent time with Lovino and his little brother to tell them the stories of his escapades and told them jokes and got them gifts whenever holidays would roll around. Lovino missed him for those memories, even felt himself beginning to tear up at the thought, but now started to feel a resentment towards the man. Because of everything the old man had “taught” him, Lovino may not make it through the next couple days.

After being left to suffer a couple minutes alone with his thoughts, Céline returns, clad in green scrubs, with Antonio trailing behind her. Seeing the man, Lovino instinctively lurches back into the couch. 

“ _ Jamón _ _.  _ You can trust me to watch him! I’m the  _ last  _ person who’d want for him to get away. But wouldn’t killing him make it easier —” the woman raises her hand like she’s about to swat at him and he puts his hands up defensively saying, “Kidding, kidding! I’ll watch him until Chris gets here. You don’t have to worry. ”

Antonio flashes Céline a grin and she sighs, grabbing her keys off the coffee table. “I trust you, so long as you don’t let Joaquim in here to talk to him. The two of you get really rowdy when you’re together and I don’t want you to gang up on him.”

“Don’t worry about it! You know I wouldn’t hurt a human… I can’t control Joaquim. But if he does come in I’ll remind him to treat Lovino nicely.”

“Please try and control him. If I come back and Chris or Lovino tells me you and Joaquim did something to him, you’re not going to like the consequences.” Céline says, pointing at him with her keys. 

Countering her, Antonio gives her a quick peck on the lips. “I get it, I get it! You terrify me when you’re mad, I mean it’s  _ kind of _ hot, but I won’t do anything to him, I swear.” 

Céline doesn’t look very amused by the kiss, her eyes saying something along the lines of,  _ we’re going to talk later,  _ before she goes back over to Lovino. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours, hopefully they’ll only keep me for a half shift but if you need anything Antonio can get it for you. Water, food, medicine anything, we have it.  My little brother should be here soon too, he’ll be better company for you. Maybe try and sleep some more.” She says, giving him a small smile.

Within a couple of moments, she's said her goodbyes and is out the door, and Lovino is officially left alone with the vampire that he tried to kill. The air is quiet for a couple of seconds as he sits sweating, waiting for Antonio to speak. Before that could happen, Joaquim bounds into the room. It was almost too much of a coincidence that he showed up just moments after Céline left, Lovino couldn't help but believe that he'd been waiting for her to leaave.

“Hey! You’re awake!” He says, bounding over to the couch and leaning over the side of it to look down at Lovino. “Good thing I didn’t hurt you too bad, huh? I could’ve paralyzed you or something for trying to kill my brother. You got off lucky!” 

Lovino pressed himself down into the couch as far as possible, if he could phase through the cushions and descend into the earth's crust, he felt that that could be a better fate, despite reassurances from Céline that they were "good" vampires. Maybe it was conditioning from his grandfather that led him to think this way, but there was no harm in being cautious. Either way, his heart was beating like a rabbits, and he was sure that the two of them could hear it. “Sì.” Was the only response he could muster. 

“ _ Joaquim,”  _ Antonio says nearing his brother, “Céline said not to mess with him! I  _ really  _ don’t want her to be pissed at me.” 

_ She already was.  _ Lovino thought to himself.

“I’m not doing anything, just talking to him! Am I not allowed to talk?” Joaquim asked, scrunching up his nose at his brother, “You shouldn’t let her control what you do, he could’ve killed you! If anything, I’d be more upset that Céline is defending him, yes? She’s more worried about the guy that tried to kill you than she was about you.”  

“Well, I mean as long as you’re only talking to him…” Antonio said trailing off. “She had no reason to be worried about me! I had everything under control!”

“No, you just got  _ lucky.  _ If he’d come at you with a silver stake you’d be dead right now. His ignorance is the only thing that kept you alive.” 

If Lovino regretted not getting on his knees and  _ begging  _ for  Céline to stay earlier, he did now. These two were becoming increasingly difficult to listen to, especially in highlighting his mistakes. His pounding head did nothing to help his current situation, not with the two of them bickering above him. “Can’t the two of you just fuck off and let me sleep?” Thinking about it, he did have something going for him, that did protect him. Assuming that this Antonio guy was as taken with Céline as he was, he wouldn’t want to make her angry. “I take that back, can’t one of you get some pain medicine for me and  _ then  _ fuck off?” 

Joaquim looks at Antonio momentarily, surprise clear in his features, then lets his gaze fall back on Lovino, “Are you trying to boss us around? I won’t hesitate to break your other arm.” 

Lovino gulps at the threat but manages to muster up the boldness to not back down, “Cèline told Antonio to get whatever shit I needed, oh, and not to hurt me.” 

“Antonio is his own man! He doesn’t need to listen to her.” 

“Hermano no _. _ ”

“Toni, I’m the oldest one here. Nothing I say is wrong.”

“ _ Hermano no.” _

_ “ _ You’re like twelve what do you know?”

“Your ability to remember things must be diminishing with age, old man!” 

"I'm only three years older than you!"

The two men were incredibly aggravating to listen to.  Céline had to have a supernatural amount of patience to have dealt with them for as long as she has. Céline said she was more than a couple hundred years old, but it was clear that she wasn’t the oldest of the group. One would think that beings of such old age would be wise beyond what was thought humanly possible. Clearly that wasn’t the case. 

Unfortunately for him, Lovino did not possess such tolerance for the aggressively annoying duo. He took one of the couch pillows and put it over his ear to block out their voices. It was clear to him he wasn’t going to get any help until that other guy arrived. Lovino thought that had been the solution to his problem, but then Antonio just pulled the pillow away, leaving him again exposed to their irritating voices. “If you’re not going to help me won’t you just leave me alone?”

“Nah, we’ve got a couple of questions for you. We wanna know who you are since we’re keeping you, a vampire hunter, in the house for a while.” Antonio stated. In the time that he’d been hiding under the pillow, the two had seemed to pull out chairs for them to sit in and a lamp to shine on his face. It was like a scene out of a cop show and Lovino was beginning to wonder sarcastically if he would’ve rather been killed by Joaquim when he kicked him into that wall than play this little game with them. 

“Like what?” Lovino asked, groaning and pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Why did you think you could kill a vampire?” Joaquim asks assessing his physique, “Alone at that. You don’t look very strong.”

That didn’t hurt as much as it might’ve a couple years ago. He’d come to terms with how short he was, “I don’t know, determination to carry on my grandfather’s apparently fake as fuck legacy?”

Antonio and Joaquim just looked at each other, shrug, then move on. "You ever had a girlfriend?" Antonio asks.

"Yes." Lovino answers noncommittally. 

"Boyfriend?" Joaquim asks.

"...Yes." Lovino answers a bit more hesitantly.

"I feel like you're lying. Antonio, I think he's a liar." Joaquim insists, squinting and leaning down to look into Lovino's eyes.

Unwillingly allowing himself to feel guilty for being caught in a lie he rubs the back of his neck with his hand. "Ugh, fine. I've never been in a relationship. Happy?" Lovino responds, cheeks flaring up. 

The two vampires just have a bit of a chuckle at his expense. “How old are you?” Antonio asks.

“Nineteen.” Lovino responds curtly then turns his head to look at them, responding before either of them can get another chance to belittle him, “My turn to ask because i’m injured and you owe me for doing this to me, so, how old are you two?” 

“Uh — I can’t remember.” Antonio responds.

Joaquim rolls his eyes. “You were born in 1520. I was born in 1517. Do the math.” His brother was certainly the more forgetful of the two, but Lovino had a feeling Joaquim was the kind to never forget. 

“496 and 499.” Lovino responds, suddenly feeling almost infantile in their presence, despite them having such youthful demeanors. But also a little proud that he was able to do the math that quickly in his head. 

“Hey! It’s almost my 500th birthday. We’ve gotta plan a good fucking party.”

“Hey! Maybe Hendrik will come back to celebrate.” 

At the mention of that guy’s name Joaquim’s face dropped. “Maybe.” 

“Who’s Hendrik?” Lovino asks, pushing himself into a sitting position. This conversation was slowly becoming more riveting. He did love hearing about other people’s drama, and he could tell this was  _ drama.  _

“Hendrik is Cey and Chris’s older brother, Joaquim also used to have a thing with him.” 

“We  _ still  _ have a thing.”

“I wouldn’t say that, I mean he left for twenty years without telling you or anyone else really, I wouldn’t consider the two of you together. True  _ amor  _ is like me and Cey’s! We’ve been together for over four hundred years with only a few  _ short  _ breaks.”

Joaquim rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat, seeming to seethe. Clearly talking about that guy was a sore topic, which of course was why Lovino wanted to talk about it more. Joaquim was an asshole who’d kicked him into a wall, maybe he deserved to be a little uncomfortable. “Why did he leave? Did he never tell you?” 

Antonio shrugged his shoulders when Joaquim refused to give an answer, “He sent us a letter a couple days after he left telling us that he was leaving for a while but that he was alright. We just assume he wanted to spend a couple years on his own. I did that for a little while once, but I was back within two years! None of us have stayed away for this long, ever. He’s been gone longer than you’ve been alive! He sends letters every once in awhile telling us he’s okay but we don’t even know where he is.” 

At that point Antonio leaned in closer to Lovino with his hand cupped around his mouth so as to prevent Joaquim from hearing, “We don’t usually talk about it though because Joaquim and Céline are sensitive about it.”

Joaquim who clearly was still able to hear him just smacked the other on the back of the head. “No I’m not.” 

“Sounds like you are.” Lovino added, not able to help himself from smirking pitilessly. 

“That's it, I’m breaking your other arm!” Joaquim barks out, standing from his seat.

Lovino thoughtlessly put his uninjured arm out in front of him in an attempt to shield himself, but had his attention drawn away by the sound of the front door opening and closing. Joaquim stopped dead in his tracks. 

Looking towards the door Lovino laid his eyes on the most Dracula looking motherfucker he had ever seen. His blonde fringe fell over one of his eyes, and he was dressed from head to toe in some Victorian-looking black suit, with a bit of red here and there to accent. All he was missing was a cape. The man looked like he was more than ready to waltz into some upper class party; the outfit he was wearing to have cost at  _ least  _ a couple hundred dollars, if not more. After this theoretical party, he'd be the kind to take one or two pieces of arm candy home along with him... and drain them of their blood. The man had impeccable fashion sense, and unattainable sex appeal for someone who didn't look any older than Lovino, and he couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit intimidated and attracted to him.

  
Christopher just raised an eyebrow at the other’s outburst, “What is this about breaking arms?” 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christopher arrives and proceeds to do the work that Céline had started. He comes up with a proposition for Lovino. 
> 
> Character mentions:  
> Guang Sheng - Nyotalia Taiwan

As soon as the two brother’s realized who walked in, Joaquim stepped back and Antonio immediately rushed to greet him. “Chris! How was it with Sheng? I’m assuming you were with him, because well, you always are! We were just joking around with Lovino, getting to know each other, y’know? Building friendship bridges, stuff like that!” Antonio rambled on, seemingly trying to lull the other’s attention away. 

The look on his face told Lovino that that Chris guy had to know he was full of shit.

Chris raised an eyebrow, staring at Antonio for a moment before letting his gaze wander over to Lovino and Joaquim. “Is that so? Do friends threaten break each other’s arms?” He asked, sliding off his jacket and tossing it to Antonio, aware that the other was sure to feel more inclined to do him a few favors. 

Antonio hurriedly went to hang up the jacket in the front closet. 

Stepping past the now painfully quiet Joaquim, Chris hunched down on his knees and stuck his hand out for Lovino to shake. “It’s nice to meet you despite the circumstances, Lovino. My sister told me a little bit about the situation that got you stuck here with us, but I promise you I don’t hold anything against you. I’ll take the best care of you until Céline returns. My name is Christopher.”

This guy even spoke like how he’d imagine Dracula would. Less lisping, with a bit of what sounded like a German accent, but very proper. He tried to ignore the fact that this guy was his babysitter. Despite this and his major Dracula vibes, Lovino felt like he could trust him. He’d swept in gracefully and the two brothers immediately backed down. He wasn’t sure what they were scared of, him or his ability to tell Céline about what they were doing. “It’s uh— Nice to meet you.” He replied, gingerly shaking the man’s hand. 

“Now, were these two bullying you? They have a habit of being rough with people they don’t know, so don’t mind them. But maybe threatening to break your other arm after doing all this to you was a little farther than Joaquim would usually go.” Christopher says, placing himself in the chair that Antonio had been sitting in.

“Chris—I wasn’t actually going to hurt him.” Joaquim spoke up, making an attempt to justify what he’d said.

Christopher gazed back at him briefly, but didn’t give him a response. 

Lovino felt a little bad, seeing Joaquim withdraw a bit. Lovino had antagonized him, not that he didn’t deserve it but, God he’d been a bit of a dick. He didn’t want to create some rift between them necessarily. Even though they were bloodsuckers. They were bloodsuckers that had taken him in and bandaged him up after he got himself into trouble with them. God dammit. “It’s okay, we were just talking. I agitated him, I’ve got to learn better than to fuck with people who could kill me.” 

All three of them looked at him with raised eyebrows. “I appreciate you owning up to that but,” Chris says, without looking at Joaquim, “He’s the oldest of us, one would think he’d know by now how to keep his temper in check.” 

Joaquim’s face immediately went sour again. “Get off your fucking high horse Chris, just because you have better control of your emotions doesn’t mean you get to act like you’re better than me.” 

“I’m not trying to.” 

“Bullshit.” Joaquim spits back, stomping off towards the hallway. Before he disappears though, he says, “Tell Céline whatever the hell you want, it’s not like I care about her opinion or yours. Have fun babysitting.” 

A door slams down the hallway and Lovino winces at the sound, the pounding in his head again noticeable. Lovino tried to stand up for him but even that got thrown back in his face, Joaquim almost definitely hated him now if he hadn’t before. How annoying. Why does he even try to be nice to the bloodsuckers?

“I’m sorry about him.” Christopher spoke up after watching Lovino react to the door slamming. 

“I tried to kill his brother and I pissed him off even more, I don’t completely blame him.” Lovino muttered, dragging a hand down his face. He’d almost forgotten that Antonio was still there. “Sorry about that by the way.” Lovino added sheepishly, looking over at the man. He figured he’d have to say it sometime. 

At that point Antonio sat down, his demeanor having lightened up just the slightest. He came bearing gifts of pain killers and a glass of water, “Don’t worry about it! I’m already over it. Joaquim can be a little sensitive though.” 

At the sight of the medication Lovino thought he might burst into tears. What a relief. Immediately, he downed a couple of the pills with a gulp of water. A couple moments later and he was already feeling refreshed. 

The concept of acting one’s age must diminish as the centuries went by, Joaquim claimed to be the oldest of the group but didn’t seem to act like it. Lovino figured it all came down to personality. He couldn’t say for sure, but Christopher must have been the youngest of the people he’d met so far, but he seemed to act mature. It was weird as hell, but at least he was willing to defend Lovino. He would’ve never expected it from a guy like him.

“Either way, you don’t have to worry about him. He picks himself back up fairly quick.” Christopher responds, nodding at Antonio in approval. “So, you were taught to be a hunter by your Grandfather? From what I heard your methods aren’t exactly—correct.” 

Of course, this guy had to pour salt into Lovino’s open wound too, even if he didn’t mean to entirely. They’d all get their time to laugh at his expense. “Yeah, your point?” 

“As I’m sure you must know, we’re vampires and bounty hunters. So we do know how to actually kill the vampire out there committing serial murders, and more.” 

More? Lovino gulped at the thought. There were more than just vampires out there? 

Christopher pondered over his own thoughts for a moment before continuing, “I mean, I could make a bargain with you. If you stay with us for a little while longer than intended and heal and get to know us better, we might be able to teach you the real techniques.” 

Antonio kind of looked at the other incredulously, and Lovino was forced to ponder over the thought as well. Looking at the pros of this situation, he likely wouldn’t have to pay rent, he would get to spend more time with Céline, he would get to learn how to be a real hunter, and get be a damned better person than his Grandfather was. The cons, he’d be willingly housing himself with a clan of vampires. Some of which, he knew weren’t on good terms with him, but the others were more than willing to make up for that it seemed. Clearly they didn’t trust him just as much as he didn’t trust them, so he figured there was nothing he had to lose. He couldn’t let a little bit of fear hold him back from becoming what he had longed to be for so long. And if one of them ever turned on him, at least he’d have the skills they would teach him to kill them.

He was going to have to stay there for a couple of days anyway, might as well extend his hunting trip. So long as his family knew he was alright, that was all that mattered. 

And again, he could truly be a badass hunter, unlike his Nono.

Lovino cleared his throat, trying to appear nonchalant, “Well, I mean I’m kind of your prisoner anyway. I don’t see why staying and learning a thing or two from you assholes would hurt me at all. Or at least, more than I already am.” 

Christopher nods at his response with a smile, and Antonio let out a bit of a nervous laugh. Christopher was certainly eager to have another person in the house, there already seemed to be so many of them, but knowing what he did about that Hendrik guy, he wondered if he would sort of become this guy’s substitute. 

On the other hand, Antonio still seemed a bit on edge about it. Maybe it was about Joaquim, or maybe it was because he’d have to live in the same place as a man who’d tried to kill him. Antonio had been playing nice after Christopher arrived, but Lovino wondered if he’d really been okay with him being there. Damn. He might have to 

“I mean, of course we’ll have to talk to everyone else but I’m sure they’ll all be alright with it. We don’t detest humans, we used to be human after all.” Christopher said.

“Especially if you help make our jobs easier, it’s easier to hunt with a larger group.” Antonio added on. “Although we might worry a little more about you since you’re so fragile.”

Lovino wanted to refute that statement, but in comparison to the others he might as well have been made of glass. So he just rolled his eyes and laid back down again against the couch. For God's sake, he very nearly died just because one of these guys punted him into a wall. Would he even be able to run with these guys? Christopher seemed optimistic, but even that Antonio guy seemed to have had his doubts. Accepting the offer so quickly probably hadn't been the best idea, but he had too much pride to back down now. He'd already accepted the offer and the challenges that came with; he had to go through with it. 

Christopher and Antonio had kept chatting beside him, but Lovino could feel his thoughts beginning to slip away from him. Tonight, or maybe it was today, had been rather exhausting for him. No matter how long he'd been out earlier his body and mind were _exhausted._ Succumbing to his exhaustion, he finally let sleep pulling him into it's ever tender tendrils. 

-


End file.
